For The Day After Tomorrow
by BlackCatNeko999
Summary: "She had trusted him with her everything because he was older, more experienced, because he couldn't hurt her without wanting to, but he couldn't be the one to take her life and youth away. It was his Hikaru after all, 'was' being the key word in the equation." Ryo x Hikaru.


**A/N:** So, I love this pairing too much to let go of it. It has such great potential and I am dying to read something about it. Until that happens, I might just give you, dear readers, this story. Those two are making me feel all sorts of emotions – is that a _bad_ or _good_ thing? … Enjoy!

**Warnings:** Semi-AU (I think, sort of), the whole age difference and the nature of the situation, undertones, suggestiveness, the usual; you clicked on this story at your own accord.

**Summary:** "She had trusted him with her everything because he was older, more experienced, because he couldn't hurt her without wanting to, but he couldn't be the one to take her life and youth away. It was his Hikaru after all, 'was' being the key word in the equation." Ryo x Hikaru.

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings etc. are the property of their respective owners. The story and plot are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended. The cover is not mine either.

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For The Day After Tomorrow

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If Ryo regretted anything about the decision he had to take, it was never seeing it earlier.

It was an usual, busy day at the company. People were rushing around, doing and minding their own business when an teenaged redhead slipped through the double glass doors at the front exit. After a few greeting words between him and a woman at the front desk, the boy took the elevator and waited for it to reach the final floor. Once there, a wide smile rose on his face.

There was the person he was looking for.

A tall man in a burgundy suit was seated in front of a computer, but his hazel eyes were not fixed on the glowing screen of the electronic apparatus but on the different documents a bluenette was presenting to him, her fingers pointing in many different places all over the papers.

The young male decided to make his presence known by yelling a loud, "Hey, Dad!" The two others halted in their actions and turned toward him.

The older redhead grinned. "Hello, Ginga. How nice of you to pay your hard working father a visit."

From beside him the blue head crossed her arms and clicked her tongue, "Yeah, Ginga. Don't you see that he has _so much work_ that needs to be done? Isn't that so, _Director_?"

At her witty remark Ginga laughed while Ryo just grimaced and started to steamer something along the lines _yeah_ and _it's nothing really_ and _oh well_.

Then followed a few minutes of chatting between father and son while the assistant went over to her desk to rearrange the pile of documents for the day. After that the rest of the day would be free for her and Hikaru was excited. She had plans for the night and nothing was to screw them.

Just as she was about to shut off her laptop, Ginga turned her direction and said, "Say, Hikaru, are you doing anything tonight?"

The question made her halt in her actions, then stand, hands twinning together behind her back.

"Depends on what you mean by _tonight_, Ginga."

The boy didn't take the hint to drop it and continued, "I was thinking about going out today. To the movies or to an simple outing between friends. Everyone will come, you know?"

Just as the blue haired girl was about to decline, the redhead spoke yet again, "Don't worry about food. I am sure Madoka can take care of it. She is, after all, the only one that has some decent cooking skills in our group."

Ryo tried to mask his smile behind his hand because his son's words were _so true_. It was nice to see Ginga getting on with his assistant. But then his smile vanished as soon as Hikaru responded, this time nothing stopping her from doing so.

"I am sorry, but I can't today. There is a meeting going on with all class presidents." Her eyes were shifting from the younger boy to the older man all this time, as in a quick call for _help_, but the older Hagane only continued to stare at her from behind his son't back, observing how the dark working suit was making her eyes seem much bluer then they really were.

Ginga's eyes widened in disbelief. "School? Friday night?"

"Yes, Ginga, on _a Friday night_," the young woman accentuated. "You should try it too."

"No, thanks." Came his immediate reply. He laughed, hazel eyes closed as he shook with mirth. "You know I am not good at those 'being responsable' things."

Hikaru's expresion crumbled into one of amusement. "Wonder where you got that from." She then turned to look Ryo straight in the eye.

"I guess it runs in the family."

The ginger haired man barely raised one eyebrow. If that was the way she liked to play then fine.

"But, Hikaru, your shift ended about five minutes ago. Shouldn't you be on your way, then?" Ryo spoke as he checked his mail, indifference lacing his words – it was obvious he wasn't going to help her out of this one.

Hikaru was almost fuming and threw the director a look that could kill. _Geez, thank you so much, Ryo._ Ginga, however, was looking ecstatic. "Cool. Let me take you there, then."

The female's bright amethyst eyes widened.

"Umm, there is no need for that, Ginga. The director is taking me. It's a favor for all the paperwork Tsubasa or I have done for him," she smiled and then winked at the younger Hagane. "And I suppose that you don't have a driving license _or_ a car."

This time it was Ginga's turn to steamer while the other two laughed.

The teen soon regained his composure and turned to leave, greeting the two over his shoulder. "Dad, I am staying out late tonight. Don't wait for me." His grin wasn't betraying any other emotion then glee.

Ryo, taking a look at Hikaru's daring smirk and raised eyebrows, found himself answering, "Looks like I am doing so too…"

And so they were soon out of the building, Ryo's car as their target. He was still dressed in his work clothes but Hikaru had opted for some dark jeans, a light purple off-the-shoulders blouse and a silver belt around her hips – she kept the heels though.

The blue head was radiating. Every coworker in the building had felt her excitement when she had went past them. Her hand was brushing past the redhead's every once in awhile and Ryo felt like with every single touch of skin more sparks were bursting between them. He swallowed and focused on the driveway, not if the girl was doing what she did self-consciously or not.

Finally, the duo made it to the car. Hikaru dropped her handbag on the back seats and took the front seat, legs crossed one over the other. Her boss got inside too and, before starting the engine, he dropped the bomb, "You're playing with fire, Hikaru."

He was watching her through the rear-view mirror, not turning his head once her direction.

Her violet eyes flickered to meet his in the mirror, too, before she responded, the grin not leaving her face, "But you know I_ love _to get _burned_." All formality from her tone was gone, leaving in its place only playfulness, but Ryo didn't look amused at all.

The young woman sighed. "Look, I don't know why you're so afraid of this, but we–" Hikaru was stopped when the driving man uttered, "That's the problem with you. You're always rushed and impatient and… and _so stubborn_."

"But you don't know until you try," she slowly traced her lower lip with her tongue, her stare burning into his. It was such a blatantly sexual gesture that any teenage boy would've felt his body go numb – but then again, Ryo _was not_ a teenage boy. He was not affected.

The fiery haired man frowned. "Do I really need to treat you like _a child_?"

Hikaru looked away, fists clenched at her sides. "Do you really want me to _answer_ you that question, Ryo?"

When she felt a hand covering hers, the bluenette continued, "I am an adult. A young one, but still an adult."

She intertwined their fingers and felt warmth rush to the pit of her stomach.

"We've talked about this before. There is nothing wrong about it – it's normal for a man and a woman to _love_ each other."

He moved to pull his hand away but Hikaru squeezed his in return, not letting go yet.

"There is no need to be afraid of what they'll say."

The man tried to let go of her hand, still, but the young woman turned towards him. "Please, tell me you won't doubt us again." Her gaze was fixed on his profile. "Say it to me."

"Hikaru." The man grimaced. His hand was still gripped in hers and he needed, really _needed_, to pull it free.

"Ryo," she whispered. Her voice was so low – and had that silky, melodious undertone in it – that the redhead could swear that all blood would leave his head. Hikaru wasn't backing down from it and was ready make a scene _in the car_ if needed.

The older Hagane grunted. "Hikaru, let go of my hand. I need to use the gear shift."

All seriousness left her expression as a her lips formed a small, adorable, "Oh."

Blushing in embarrassment, the bluenette pulled her hand away at lightning speed, her fingers playing together in her lap. Ryo gave her a gentle smile as a response to her bashful one when he ruffed her icy colored locks, then focused on further driving the red car.

Soon, the vehicle stopped moving and Hikaru looked around, confused.

"Umm, not that I am ungrateful or something, but," her eyebrows furrowed together. "What are we doing in front of Metal High?"

Ryo chuckled and Hikaru felt like pulling off a facepalm. "Didn't you have plans for tonight?"

"You don't really plan on leaving me here now, do you?" the girl asked as she uncrossed her legs.

The man turned to her for the first time since they got in the car, after letting his eyes wander over the now dark and empty parking lot. He said, "Depends on _what_ you want to do."

Hikaru smirked. "Well then, I was thinking," she began as her hands wrapped around his neck. "That we could spend some time together."

Her eyes were fixed on his, but her mind was trying to find a way for her body to slide to the other seat and onto his lap without seeming rushed. "On our own."

His fiery locks of hair slipped through her fingers so easily now that she had a sudden urge to bury her head in them.

"And I was thinking that after that we could go dancing somewhere," she finished with a lingering touch of lips at his jaw line, the same lips flashing him a coy smile after.

Ryo felt a smile of his own tug at his mouth as he nodded and left the the parking lot. The offer didn't sound bad at all, so that was what they did all evening till late at night.

Like the gentleman he was, the redhead drove Hikaru to her small apartment and was off to get to his.

When Ryo came home, Ginga was waiting for him, a big plate filled with hot pizza beside him.

"How long were you waiting?" the man asked as he took his suit's jacket and tie off.

His son gestured to the plate and answered, "Just a few minutes. Might as well eat together once."

That had hurt. It was true that after his escapades with his young assistant had started, Ryo didn't get to spend as much time with his son. He has always told him he was working late – sometimes even staying over night.

Soon they started eating.

There was a comfortable silence in the room, but it was disturbed by the older redhead. "So, what's new with you… and your friends?" His bit his tongue for almost saying the word 'kids'. They were not _so young_ anymore, but he couldn't help but feel a little alone now that his son was growing into a nice young man – that resembled himself in more than one way.

Ginga didn't seem to observe the hesitation and if he did, the boy didn't show it. "Eh, nothing special."

Ryo nodded and took a sip from one of the sodas Ginga brought home.

"Just that Kyouya's father remarried."

The older Hagane choked.

"What!" he shouted, eyes as wide as the plates they were eating on, but it seemed like Ginga dint't pay attention, his mood somehow killed.

"It's nothing, really. I know Kyouya didn't want to get into too many details, but Madoka drew every single particularity up his throat in under one minute…" his expression was one of pure fear as he continued, "It's a little frightening, an angry Madoka I mean…"

Everything screamed to Ryo that Ginga didn't want to see _that_, so he decided to find out what _he_ thought about it. "So, how's Kyouya handling it?"

"Oh, he says he's cool with it. But knowing Kyouya, he's cool about a lot of things. Most of things but losing, that's it." The redhead laughed at his own joke while his father felt himself smile.

"But what would you do if you were in his place?"

The question was sudden and Ginga stopped mid-laugh to stare at Ryo from across the table. Finally, he managed to stutter, "What do you mean by that, Dad? It's not like…" But the man's eyes didn't betray his inter turmoil.

The younger spoke again, "Well, I guess I wouldn't have a say in it, I mean it's not like your life is mine. You're free to do what you want with your life because when you have found that special someone it's just perfect…" he finished with a somehow distant smile on his face and Ryo knew that moment that his son was really not so young anymore.

Deciding against teasing him about his crush, the older Hagane announced that he will do the dishes that night. Without another word but 'Good night', Ginga went to get ready for bed.

As he was puting the last plate away, the older thought to himself that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to announce his relationship with Hikaru to his son. Ginga's words were encouraging and Ryo knew Hikaru wanted anything but a secret relationship.

But nothing could prepare the redheaded single father for what was going to be discovered that night. Nothing in the world.

He was just checking on Ginga, that was all. He was sleeping so peacefully and Ryo just wanted to spend a little more with his son, but then a pice of luscious paper clutched in Ginga's hand caught his attention.

He shouldn't have had, but maybe he should have a long, long time ago. Ryo easily retrieved it from the younger's fngers and stared in shook at the _picture_ – he realised.

It was made two or three years ago – judging by the nonexistent date on the back – and it featured fifteen-year-old Ginga and sixteen-year-old Hikaru. It must have been from one of their outings, Ryo mussed silently. Hikaru was seated on one table and Ginga was standing beside her, one arm around her shoulders in a peace sign. His eyes were closed and his grin was wider than ever, teeth almost shining from the camera's flash. Hikaru, however, was having a small, full of affection smile on her soft lips – Ryo would know, believe him. Her eyes were watching the redhead with curiosity and amusement as she raised her hand behind his head in the 'bunny ears' style. The man couldn't help but stare at how _good _that lavender dress was making the bluenette look or how it _hugged_ her curves.

Ryo felt like his heart was pierced by an arrow as he realised that beside most of his locks, Ginga inherited his taste in women too.

Ginga was liking Hikaru too. But Hikaru was with _him_.

Oh, he should have known. All the visits Ginga was making were not only for him but for the assistant too.

He didn't know what was it that he felt. Mixed emotions. Too many of them.

Jealousy? No, why _in hell_ would he be jealous of? That he was to break his son's heart by dating his crush? That he was _living_ what was supposed to be Ginga's love life?

Ryo saw it then: he took his place and stole Hikaru away. Like that evening. Hikaru could've spent the time with her friends, but she had to distance herself from them (_from Ginga_) just _to be with_ him. If she would have ever told anyone she wanted to spend some time with her employer, most would say something along the lines _why, don't you see each other almost every day at work _or _you need a raise or something_. It was unacceptable.

What a terrible mess! What was he going to do now? How could they all cope with it? All kinds of questions were running thru Ryo's mind when he realised just _how young_ Hikaru was and _how much better_ it was for her to be with someone her age. He couldn't be the one to take her life away, her youth. He did enough already, a sin that was unforgivable. He had tasted from the apple of discord and had wanted _more_.

And Hikaru complied right away.

She had trusted him with her _everything_ because he was older, more experienced – he couldn't hurt her without wanting to. He could make her feel all sorts of things, different emotions and (_sick_) pleasures no youngster her own age would ever _know_ of.

It was all she had ever wanted. A strong man by her side. Hikaru loved the way kissing him felt like – the way it felt to run her hands down his shaved cheeks and how strong his jaw felt under her fingertips or how whenever their kiss was deepened, his chin would brush against hers and she'd feel the facial hair there; her toes would curl at how _rough_ and _good_ it felt at the same time. It felt so real. So strong. So masculine. So absolutely _virile_.

It was perfect so the girl didn't feel bothered at all when her phone rang at one in the morning. Usually, she'd just send to the darkest places ever anyone who dared wake her up at that hour, but hearing the ring tone she had set only for Ryo, Hikaru stumbled over her own two feet to respond.

"Hello?" She did her best to sound as if she hadn't been sleeping seconds ago and suppressed the yawn that was fighting its way out her mouth.

"Were you sleeping, Hikaru?"

As soon as he asked that, Ryo felt like he had said the stupidest thing ever. Why in the world would she be up anyway?

Hikaru laughed, "Was that a rhetorical question, Ryo?" The sarcasm was clear in her voice.

"Good. I'll be there in five." With no other response, the man hung up.

Her amethyst eyes widened. He was coming over, and _so fast_? Hikaru looked around to see what could she 'tidy up' in a such short period of time. She had decided on straightening her bed covers and barely had any time left to brush her teeth and hair or to wash her face off of any traces of sleep.

The bell rang in her small apartment.

Not that Ryo's nerves weren't already down, but when he saw the young woman open the door, dressed in only a pale blue tank top and a pair of boy shorts the only thought that crossed his mind was that it might have been much better if he talked with Hikaru the day after.

He brushed past her and turned, just in time to see the bluenette locking the front door.

"I'm sorry for waking you up, but we need to talk."

The girl didn't seem fazed by his words as she raised a single blue eyebrow. Ryo looked more troubled than ever, not knowing _what_ to say now he was there already.

She walked over to him and gripped his broad shoulders, fingers sliding then down the muscles of his arms. "You're so tense."

He was watching her with calculated eyes, hers staring back up at him. Since her head barely passed his shoulders, Hikaru had to tilt her head back to cath the man's intense gaze.

She smiled. "You know what would help you: a massage or even better," she departed from him to wander towards a small cabinet in the room.

"A hot and relaxing bath."

She began searching for something inside the cabinet while still talking, "It'll be even better with those few new bath salts I bought a few days ago. I never had the chance to try them, but you can tell me if they're any good."

Her tone was warm and excited. Ryo couldn't help smiling – a sad smile unfortunately – at how attentive and thoughtful she was. Such a great _assistant_ she was. He almost thought of dropping his intentions and let her do as she pleased. _Almost_.

"Hikaru." He tried stopping her, but the name fell to deaf ears.

"And then you can tell me what's bothering you." She pulled out a multicolored cardboard box and closed the cabinet. "I tell you, now that my neighbor stopped playing the drums at night, everything is enjoyable again."

"Hikaru!" This time she stopped talking and turned around to face him. His dark auburn eyes were burning into hers. "We must stop this at once."

The box fell out of her hands.

"W-what?" She couldn't believe her own ears. _What?_

"All this has been a big mistake in the first place. I shouldn't have give in to the temptation." The man was frowning at her, an ureable expression darkening his features.

Hikaru gulped and felt any warm feeling in her belly disappear. "You've got to be kidding me."

"This would never work out the way we want to." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Have you ever thought about what's going to happen in the future? About _what_ would change if we _kept doing this_?"

The violet eyed young woman opened her mouth to retort, but no words came out. She then closed it and mentally hit herself for not being able to come up with a good counter attack.

"I have a family, Hikaru. Ginga is my family and I don't want to lose him." He stopped and wondered if mentioning his son was a good idea in the first place.

"No! I don't want it to end like this," Hikaru cried out as her hands balled at her sides. Her eyes were holding so much pain it _hurt to look_ into them, but Ryo managed to do that without blinking.

"And what has Ginga to do with all this? How can you lose him?"

The red haired director furrowed and tried his best to keep his emotion in line. He was after all dealing with a _young girl_. A girl that had no idea how hard Life could be or how much it had in store for her.

"Just," her words were shaking in time with her legs, "Just take one more night to think it over because I can see you_ don't want _to do_ this_."

At her words something in him snapped. _Just one more night_. Was that what she wanted? Was that what _he_ wanted? All common sense left the man the moment she reached for him, and everything else was a blur of movements, clothes and breathy sounds of intimacy, ending up in tangled feet and arms and mouths, so mingled and _wandering_.

After, his stomach was churning.

Hikaru had fallen asleep right after she told him her usual words, but he was wide awake, refusing to let sleep win the fight.

"I love you, Ryo. Thank you." The words were filled with so much truth and sincerity and appreciation. It was just like she was thanking him for letting her show her love and compassion.

Those words pained him because now he'd have to leave her for good. He had to make the best of the time they had left so he let his hazel eyes wander over her sheet-covered form.

As usual she was sleeping on her right, facing him. Hikaru had told him it was the best that way because in the morning she'd wake up to him – it made the male's heart jump in his throat then and now, remembering that made it go in the opposite direction. It was the truth when he had told her he liked that too. _It was the truth_.

His eyes followed the gentle curve of her lips, the smooth surface of her cheeks, the dark and long lashes that fell over her closed eyes, he followed with his gaze everything to the curls of soft hair that framed her face. One rebel strand had fell over her forehead, tickling her small nose. His fingers were itching to cares her mocha skin and push that lock of beautiful, icy hair behind her ear.

His hand was moving on its own accord and Ryo realised it only when his fingers were moments away from touching her. He could feel her warmth radiating from her skin and he wanted it _so much_, but his hand pulled away.

The man had promised himself it was over. He had to do the first step out of the relationship whether he liked it or not.

He was sure to miss it – all of it. It had been beautiful and wonderful, but it had to stop.

The man spent a few more minutes in the silence of the night, thinking of all he'd lose after he left, and in the end exhaled, took his clothes and locked the front door of the apartment – the spare key hidden under the small mat at the entrance.

It was officially over.

A few hours later, the bluenette stirred awake, violet eyes fluttering open expecting to find the handsome man of her dreams grinning down at her, but instead she found an empty place. An _cold_, empty place. A pang of dread hit her full force.

Ryo had left her. For good this time.

As she was pulling herself together to start looking for her clothes, a note on the nightstand made her freeze and only after what seemed like decades, her slender fingers wrapped around the paper, bringing it closer to her face.

A sob erupted from her throat.

_Hikaru. My beautiful, dearest Hikaru._

_I am so sorry it had to end this way. You mean a lot to me and I love you so much, but this is wrong. I've been so wrong to delude you with this. You are young and have all life forward, I am just an old single father that has a life full of mistakes behind. Don't make me say you're one of them because I really don't want to. You've been so stubborn last night that I saw this is the only way things would work out. We cannot be anything more than employer and employee now, I am sorry._

_Maybe in another life, eh Hikaru?_

_-Ryo Hagane_

No, it didn't have to end that way. It was too much for Hikaru to take. It just was.

Tears were flowing from her open eyes, making the writing on the paper unclear.

Another sob echoed in the room.

Her head hurt, her heart ached, her soul _burned_.

This time, a blood curling scream rang out her apartament's open windows.

She was screaming and crying and gasping for air at the same time. _Why_; _why_; _why_ – it was like a mantra. Why couldn't he see that it wasn't helping anyone, that it only hurt them, that everything that they'd done was _harmless_? Why did he had to even say that he _loved_ her, still? If he did, why did he break her heart?

Hikaru found herself wishing that he had told her it was all a lie, that she was used only for his benefit, that he _never loved_ her – it would have been easier to forget him then, to wash his delicious scent off her clothes, her sheets, her _everything_ and just forget about what happened. But no, he had to break her even more by saying _sorry_!

So Hikaru screamed until her throat went sore, maybe hoping that the one that caused her hurt would hear from the other side of the town and feel her pain too? No one was to know.

Both of them didn't know how much the other suffered.

Ryo didn't know that in the end she was staring aimlessly at the ceiling. Hikaru didn't know that he was crying his own eyes out in front of a framed old photo he had hidden all this time, calloused fingers tugging at fiery locks of spiky hair. Neither did she know that he was whispering _what have I done?… what have I done?… what have I done?_ again and again, on and on, never ending while the glass that covered and protected the picture of a young woman holding a bundle of red hair, smiling widely at the camera, was reflecting the moon's light.

It had been his decision after all. For a better life. For his only child. For Ginga. _For_ _Hikaru_.

It was over and he shouldn't have been surprised by the message he got from one of the subalterns the next day.

He should have expected that when he got inside the building, the woman working at the main desk would show him a paper sheet that contained the words _document of resignation_ and _Hikaru Hasama_.

It was his Hikaru after all, 'was' being the key word in the equation.

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**A/N:** There, Ryo x Hikaru (what should their name be: HikaRyo, RyoKaru, Rikaru?!) with a tiny hint of unrequited Ginga x Hikaru. It had to be written, that's all I can say. (By the way, had anyone caught any humor in the first half, because if not then I seriously am no good at it.)

Any thoughts?

**BlackCatNeko999**


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